


Admit It or Lose Him

by KureKai_King



Category: Free!
Genre: Best Friends, Crushes, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-30
Updated: 2020-05-30
Packaged: 2021-03-03 02:15:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,722
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24357157
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KureKai_King/pseuds/KureKai_King
Summary: Hiyori does his best to convince Ikuya to tell Asahi how he feels about him.
Relationships: Kirishima Ikuya & Tono Hiyori, Kirishima Ikuya/Shiina Asahi, Shigino Kisumi & Tono Hiyori
Comments: 5
Kudos: 24





	Admit It or Lose Him

Hiyori was not Asahi's biggest fan and vice versa, but he knew how much the butterfly swimmer meant to his best friend. Again, and vice versa. They could just about tolerate one another, mainly for Ikuya's sake and for the sake of not causing any more unneeded drama within the group of friends, but both of them were very much aware that it was merely a mindful act. They wouldn't speak each other's given names, nor would they actively be the ones to bring each other up in conversation. They were bitter with masks of fake smiles when around one another.

Hiyori and Ikuya were walking together to catch a train, having just left _The Marron_ where the group often met up nowadays, and Hiyori couldn't shake the blinding memory of how bright Ikuya's smile had been for pretty much the whole time they were there. The moment his eyes had landed on Asahi, Hiyori had felt the air seemingly grow tighter and lighter at the same time. Of course, he knew Asahi had a thing going for his best friend, he was barely able to hide it at the best of times. Hiyori didn't ever think Ikuya would start to feel the same way though.

He wasn't jealous (to some extent, jealous of their friendship maybe). He didn't have his own secret feelings for Ikuya. None of that drama-related nonsense like the movies and the novels. Hiyori supposed he was just a little bit scared, is all; Ikuya had been his only friend for a long time and maybe that was why he'd done what he did to Ikuya's old friends - pushed them away so Ikuya wouldn't leave him. Was that petty? Selfish? Did it mean he was a bad person? No...surely not, right? Just because Asahi wasn't fond of him still didn't mean he hadn't forgiven him for what happened. Ikuya had told him that since he knew Asahi better than Hiyori probably ever would.

But he couldn't keep Ikuya grounded at his side forever. If Ikuya wanted his future to be with Asahi then Hiyori was just going to have to shake off the dreading fear of loneliness and suck it up. Now that he thought about it, what reason did Ikuya have for not wanting Asahi? Sure, the guy wasn't the brightest person he'd ever met but it fit his charm. Ikuya probably found it more amusing than he did annoying. He and Hiyori were just two very different people.

An even more stubborn problem now was that Ikuya was acting as if he hadn't just spent their entire study session tucked off to the side with Asahi with numerous amounts of laughter and flirtatious looks exchanged between them. Hiyori definitely knew he hadn't been imagining the smitten lidded eyes on Ikuya's face as he listened to whatever Asahi was telling him. For some reason, it just irked him. A lot.

"You know," he started, entirely unsure of exactly what he even doing, "You should just tell him you like him. Not like he's going anywhere...this time".

"Huh? Who?" Ikuya looked puzzled.

"Shiina".

"What...about him?"

"Well, I'm pretty damn sure you didn't just spend the entire time sitting by yourself and talking to the wall, Ikuya. Don't play dumb with me, it makes you look bad".

"I'm not! And so what if Asahi and I decided to leave you guys in as much peace as we could? You should know what he's like by now, how he acts".

"Yeah, and somehow I'm not the one blinded by love so much that I can't apparently notice when the guy right in front of my face is smitten with me".

Ikuya paused, halting their walk, "What on earth do you mean? Asahi doesn't like me, and I don't like him any more than a friend. I told you, we were just giving you guys some actual space to study properly".

"Like hell you were! Come _on,_ Ikuya! You don't think I saw the way you practically lit up the room just by seeing him? I might be the one wearing glasses but right now you're the blind one".

"You're not actually-"

"Not the point!" 

"Why are you so worked up about this? About Asahi of all people? Seriously, Hiyori, this is weird, even for you".

Hiyori huffed, pushing his glasses up his face from where they'd slipped, "You can continue to deny your feelings all you want, but if you don't admit to them soon, then he might give up on you himself. Someone might just come along after that and end up taking the place where you should be. And because I know you're going to say it, no, Kisumi doesn't feel that way about him either".

"How do you even know how Asahi's feeling? Kisumi been gossiping to you at your little basketball meetups or something?" Ikuya scowled.

"Something like that, yes," Hiyori said matter-of-factly, "Shiina treats you like you're some sort of God-given gift, and you're really here telling me you don't see that? Heck, Ikuya, anyone can dream about having someone treat them that way and you're one of the lucky ones who happen to have someone right in front of you doing all that for real! How you want to keep denying the blossoming romance between you both is baffling me".

"Asahi's just that type of guy, believe me. There's nothing special between us..."

"God...right now, I don't know whether to call you stubborn or stupid. Listen Ikuya, just keep in mind what I said. I know you, remember? And I know you well. But, don't come crying to me if Shiina decides to give up and move on because you refuse to believe your prince is right in front of your eyes back there".

Hiyori hated arguing with Ikuya, but this time he couldn't sit back and let him walk away from something and later come to regret it. He only hoped Kisumi had kept his end of their agreement at their last hang-out and was giving Asahi a talk of his own. Not that he truly needed one, since Hiyori was certain everyone who was with the two of them could notice the obvious romance in the air, but it wouldn't hurt for Kisumi to address the issue just in case the 0.01% chance of Asahi not realising he and Ikuya were in love was true. 

He started walking again and Ikuya faltered for a few steps before catching up with him and follow him back to their dorm in a silence that meant Ikuya's brain might actually be thinking things over.

Hiyori could only hope and pray at this point.

* * *

The days rolled by and Ikuya was oddly silent around Hiyori - well, not just Hiyori.

There later came a day where Hiyori and Kisumi had agreed to meet at the usual basketball court, bringing along their respective best friends with them. Ikuya had just shrugged at the offer, and Hiyori already knew from Kisumi that Asahi had agreed to come along (claiming he was curious on how good Hiyori actually was at the sport), so he dragged Ikuya to the court before he could click things together and protest if he decided to.

Kisumi had wasted no time in getting Hiyori involved in the game and they left their friends to spectate from a nearby bench. He could hear their quiet voices, Asahi's being slightly louder and more frequent but Hiyori kept himself focused on the game he had with Kisumi. Ikuya would have to decide for himself what he wanted to do when it came to Asahi. Hiyori had done all he could do without truly intervening.

Kisumi stuck his tongue out as he tackled the ball off him and Hiyori chased him toward the hoop. The pink-haired boy reached up to throw the ball at the net when Ikuya's shout surprised them both and the ball dropped from Kisumi's hands as they both whipped around with the same mess of sudden dreaded thoughts running through their minds.

"What...did you just say?" Asahi asked, looking up at where Ikuya had stood and was directly in front of him, hands bunched into fists at his sides and his chin dipped down toward his collarbone. "Ikuya, you-"

"I SAID THAT I LOVE YOU!!" Ikuya was shaking so much that even Hiyori could see the vibrations of his body and he slowly made his way closer with Kisumi at his side, their game abandoned.

Asahi was just staring up at Ikuya, a mixture of feelings no doubt running through him before Ikuya jerked slightly and brought his hands up to his face, sleeves pulled over his fingers. Hiyori opened his mouth to call out but Asahi pulled Ikuya into a hug, the latter's knees buckling beneath him and gently hitting the space of the bench revealed between Asahi's legs. The redhead ran his hands over Ikuya's back soothingly and used one to push his head into his shoulder where Ikuya could hide his face.

Hiyori guessed Ikuya's silence for the past few days had been due to him building up his emotions behind a wall as he'd done before. Kisumi's hand landed on his arm and there was a small squeeze as Hiyori moved his gaze to him and shared his pleased and reassured smile. They quickly turned back and raced to get the ball knowing Asahi could take things from there on his own. 

When the game finished, they found Ikuya curled up on Asahi's lap, arms wrapped around, and heads gently laid next to each other. Ikuya's eyes were closed and his breathing was steady, but Asahi was awake. He cracked an eye open at them both and smiled, looking pleased with himself. Words weren't needed to tell anyone what had happened after Ikuya's outburst.

Hiyori sighed through his nose with a smile and offered his hand for Asahi to shake, submitting that Ikuya was in his care now. Of course, Ikuya would still always need his best friend, but Hiyori knew from the moment he worked out Ikuya was in love with Asahi, that there were just some things he'd never be able to give him.

But, at least he had fallen for someone he could trust.

And for Hiyori, that was more than enough.


End file.
